Enemies
by vanrigsby
Summary: The original script version of that pivotal scene. Rewrite for part of 317.


**A/N: Written for the femslash fic exchange on tumblr/livejournal. One way of how this scene could have gone (with my own twist).**

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The whole room seemed to slow, and come to a stop. Buffy froze, her knife pressed to Faith's pale throat. She could feel the chill of the other girl's blade against her own neck, and they were at a standstill.

Like so many other times in their life, they were opposing each other. The Slayers. The Chosen Two. Never supposed to exist at the same time, never supposed to fight. And yet, here they were.

Buffy met Faith's eyes, and she wasn't even aware of the passing of time around them. It could have been an hour, or a minute. In reality, it was barely a couple of seconds. But there was an exchange between them that defied time.

Faith's dark eyes had always been a mystery to Buffy. Over time, she'd learned to read most of their expressions. The little spark that would appear when she was defying someone, or something. The gleam that she got when she was sparring with Buffy, verbally or physically. And the sheer joy that would overtake all of her features when she defeated a vamp. The eyes were the window to the soul, apparently, and in this moment, Buffy could swear she looked directly at Faith's very essence. The core of who she was. And it was scary. This girl, whoever she was now, was completely unknown to Buffy. The tentative friendship they'd formed since they'd met so many nights ago in that alley was almost gone, eclipsed by something blacker than what Buffy had seen before. Faith's eyes were dark, and they were scared. Hurt. Betrayed.

Buffy's heart clenched a little in her chest. Yes, she'd betrayed Faith. But Faith had done so first. And watching the other girl kiss the love of her life cut so deep that it was almost a physical ache in her chest. Never mind the typical hurt that usually came along with whenever she thought about the other Slayer. There was just something about her. It confused Buffy to no end, but she tried to ignore it with everything she had. There were many mixed signals, it was just easier to forget about it instead of attempting to analyse it.

Faith moved suddenly, then. Buffy's first instinct was to tense, every muscle in her body standing to attention as Faith gripped the back of her neck and yanked her forward. The force would have sent any normal human sprawling to the ground, but the blonde Slayer was able to remain upright. Buffy's body felt torn - part of her wanting to yank herself away from Faith's grip, and the other part wanting to reach out and match Faith's actions, drawing the other Slayer close. Before she could react in any sense, though, Faith had closed the distance between them, pressing their lips together.

It was a chaste kiss. Not as passionate as Buffy had experienced with Angel, and nowhere near as involved as what she'd seen transpire between Faith and Angel. But it was intense in a different way. The chaos of the room around them fell away, and all Buffy felt in the entire world was Faith's warm, soft lips on hers, and her hand holding on to the back of Buffy's neck like she would die if she let go. Buffy's whole body seemed to go into shock, completely unable to respond, for a good second or two. Within a moment, however, her systems were back to being fully functional, and she kicked her body into gear.

One hand reached up to tangle in Faith's dark locks, holding her exactly where she was. Knife still clutched in her hand, she kissed back, her body humming with energy. Before she really had a chance to respond, however, Faith pulled away, breaking the contact but remaining close. Her gaze met Buffy's and held for a long moment, before pushing up off the floor and turning away.

"Faith," Buffy stopped her with one hand wrapped around her wrist, using the other girl's momentum against her and causing Faith to tumble to the ground, practically in Buffy's lap. The blonde took the opportunity to fuse her mouth to Faith's again, kissing her like it was what she needed to breath.

After successfully rendering Faith motionless for a moment - aside from her tongue and lips - Buffy felt the exact moment the other Slayer gained full control of her body again. Faith sprung up from the floor, pausing as she stood above Buffy. Her chest heaved, and her eyes were wide. In the dark, it was difficult to determine the exact emotion behind them, but Buffy could detect fear, lust, and anger swirling in their depths.

"I-" Faith began, then cut herself off, turning on one heel and sprinting away.

Buffy was still completely oblivious to the battle going on around her. One hand rose, fingertips brushing her lips as Faith's mouth had done only seconds ago.

Holy shit.

Did that really happen?


End file.
